Manchester by the Sea

Kenneth Lonergan, 2016

IMDB

4/5

Any New Englander is going to feel a sense of familiarity to Manchester by the Sea. It's a movie filled with characters constantly battling the cold temperatures, something we are all used to dealing with in the Northeast. But these characters, while possibly making the mistake of dressing a little too lightly, are tough people. They have endured. There is a sense of resilience. These are working class people who are dealing with the difficulties of ordinary life. Loss of a loved one, past mistakes, struggling to make that next dollar.

Casey Affleck is a proper casting choice for the Lee Chandler character because he's not a very external actor. Lee is not a very external character. Lee bottles things up. He carries the weight of his past on his back. The only release for him is the occasional bar-fight that can be provoked by something as simple as accidentally bumping into him. So it's safe to say he's a man on edge. He becomes a profoundly sympathetic character when more of his past is revealed during the films constant flashbacks. There's just so much nuance to his character, along with the other characters in this film. Kyle Chandler, who plays Lee's brother Joe, brings the same level of consistency that he always brings. Chandler is really one of those actors that is always just dependable. Michelle Williams continues to prove how unbelievably good she is. She has this ability to pull a reaction out of you with little dialogue. She's all in with her supporting performance as Randi Chandler. The standout scene with her being an alleyway confrontation with Lee that dares you to not tear up.

This is a movie where you can't point fingers. Everyone is struggling in some way or another, just like normal folk do. There is a defining turning point in the tone of this film that you never fully recover from, even after the end credits. That's why it takes such an emotional toll on you. Because this is a real movie, maybe too real. You aren't spoon-fed a Hollywood ending here. This film ends just like life goes on. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't, sometimes it's neither. Sometimes things just keep on keeping on. You just continue to exist in the world, with no choice but to carry the entirety of your history with you.

The Vicious Kind

Lee Toland Krieger, 2009

Can I Stream it?

3/5

Dealing with heartbreak from a recent breakup, Caleb (Adam Scott) attempts to be protective of his younger brother who is home from college by scaring off his girlfriend, who he surprisingly starts having feelings for.

Set in Norfolk Connecticut, The Vicious Kind is a small New England love story packed with raw emotion. It's the minimalist design that makes the film appealing. You rely on the performances of three very different men and a beautiful girl, all who have their own personal issues that manifest themselves in various ways when in the presence of Emma (Brittany Snow). Caleb is mostly angry and heartbroken. The jet black hair of Emma is a feature similar to his ex-girlfriends, so it's not hard for Emma to actually become the woman who just broke Caleb's heart. Caleb's father Donald (J.K. Simmons) has his own issues with women, a general disrespect for them, which erupts quite quickly at the dinner table when introduced to Emma for the first time. And young Peter (Alex Frost), the most sympathetic character in the picture, is just so innocent and sincere. He hasn't been burned by the world yet.

The film studies the long-existing, never-boring father-son conflict. The brother/brother competitive dynamic. Ones personal destruction after a breakup and the inevitable slow rebuild. The Caleb character is a departure for usually-comedic actor Adam Scott, who has no trouble putting it all on the screen. He is defeated, bitter, resentful. He is unpredictable and impulsive, his mood turning on a dime. One minute he is sobbing to himself, cigarette in mouth. The next he is explosive to anyone around him. The film's best attributes are certainly in the performances and and solid camera work. The myriad of medium shots bring you into the weight of the moment, especially with the often rough exchanges between Caleb and Emma. The film gets a bit sloppy, especially with some of the flashbacks of Caleb with his ex-girlfriend. It makes sense they exist, if anything they give some kind of history to Caleb. But it seems a bit unnecessary. Adam Scott provides enough in the present-day Caleb to really deliver a thorough character without back-story. He shows this from the remarkable opening shot of the film with him sitting in a diner booth with watery eyes. Hopefully he pursues more dramatic roles in the future. He certainly has the chops.